AIZAWL, Aug. 10: Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma and several Christian organisations have urged the Centre to refer the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for detailed scrutiny and wider consultation before it is considered for passage in Parliament.
Lalduhoma said the Bill was currently under consideration and called for a JPC to examine concerns and suggestions raised by different regions and stakeholders.
The Chief Minister recently met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi along with representatives of the Mizoram Kohhran Hruaitu Committee and the Council of Churches in Mizoram. The delegation submitted a memorandum to the Union Home Ministry outlining concerns over provisions of the proposed legislation.
“In the spirit of democratic consultation, we respectfully appeal to the Union Government to refer the Bill to a Joint Parliamentary Committee,” Lalduhoma said.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) also urged the government to refer the Bill to a JPC. CBCI Secretary General Archbishop Anil Joseph Thomas Couto said the Church supported financial transparency and national security but expressed concern that some provisions could create operational difficulties for grassroots charitable organisations.
The Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on March 25, 2026, and is expected to come up for discussion during the last week of the Monsoon session.
The National Council of Churches in India (NCCI) has similarly called for wider stakeholder consultation before the Bill is passed. NCCI General Secretary Asir Ebenezer raised concerns over provisions relating to cessation and the proposed vesting mechanism and sought administrative and judicial review mechanisms.
The All India Christian Council and several other Christian leaders and organisations, including National Church Mission Association chairman Richard Howell, United Christian Forum national coordinator A C Michael, Cardinal Oswald Gracias and Aizawl Bishop Stephen Rotluanga, have also backed referral of the Bill to a parliamentary committee.
The growing calls for scrutiny come ahead of the Bill’s likely consideration in the Lok Sabha, with Christian organisations seeking wider consultation over provisions they say could affect charitable and faith-based institutions.
